Sony unveils Xperia P and U phones

Sony has announced two new additions to its Xperia line of Android smartphones, the Sony Xperia P and Sony Xperia U.

The two new handsets join the Xperia S announced earlier in the year at CES as the complete lineup of upcoming models that will be launching here in the UK for the new Ericsson-less brand.Sony Xperia P

The Xperia P sets itself apart with a unibody aluminium chassis and also is the first handset to feature Sony's new WhiteMagic display tech, which here is in a 4in (960 x 540 pixel) variety. According to Sony this makes the display appear twice as bright in sunny conditions while maintaining low power usage. It also sports a 1GHz dual-core CPU, an 8 megpixel camera with Full HD 1080p video, NFC technology and a so called smart dock for easy landscape orientation docking and connecting to a TV. The dock can also be used to control your phone with a normal TV remote, and has a USB port for connecting keyboard and mouse accessories.

Sony Xperia U

Meanwhile the Xperia U is the baby of the bunch with a 3.5in (854 x 480 pixel) screen and 5MP camera with 720p video. However as well as featuring the same clear plastic section as the rest of the range, which lights up to show notifications and incoming calls, it also has interchangeable coloured plastic sections on the bottom. A bit of a gimmick, certainly, but they look quite funky from what we've seen so far.

All the handsets will feature Sony's Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited music and video streaming services as well as exclusive access to PlayStation branded games.

Arriving mid Q2, we've yet to hear exact pricing on either handset but expect both to be fairly modestly priced. Three, T-Mobile and Orange have all been in touch to say they will be ranging the Xperia U in the UK, with the white version exclusively at Orange.

Make sure to check out our Mobile World Congress 2012 Round-up for all the latest news, reviews and rumours direct from Barcelona.